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Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Product Review: Planet Glass Universal Bead Release

When I started lampworking, a bottle of Fusion Products bead release came with the kit and that was what I used for a while. It worked well, and suited my needs because I hadn't tried anything else. Once in a while, I would marver a little too vigorously and the bead would come loose and I'd have to be finished whatever I was doing. That was when I remembered someone talking about this blue "dip and go" stuff that was so much better. Nothing I looked at was blue, but there was a product from Milliron Tools called Dip-n-Go Sludge that seemed to fit the bill. It worked very well and suddenly, flakes of bead release on the beads and having to quit real quick weren't a problem anymore. It comes in a wide-mouth jar and is a bit of a pain to mix but is smooth, consistant and reliable. Then a jar of Planet Glass' bead release came with some glass I bought and I had to give it a try.

I'd like to note the shape of the bottle. Long and narrow is a good thing. When it comes to using it, though, there are one or 2 little issues. Dipping the mandrels results in uneven coverage so often I've taken to dipping them twice. Also, flame drying this much bead release results in a bit of flaking, which I'm not at all comfortable with. Assuming that I have the foresight to dip ahead of time and am careful, I have mandrels dipped in release. It works well. I didn't have any separation or flaking off when using and the beads are cleaned in a fraction of the time it takes with my standard Dip-n-Go.

Short and squat results in a lot of product that is just sitting on the far and not the mandrels, and I have to combine almost done jars to get enough to use. It flame dries beautifully and doesn't come loose. For cleaning either. I often have to keep scrubbing.

Would I buy Universal Bead Release? Probably not. I like my standby, even though I wish they'd come out with a different package. That uneven coverage thing and having to dip mandrels more than once is a drag.